Sickened Blossoms
by Kamikaze Kabuki
Summary: Riff is secretly holding feelings for Cain. When Cain becomes sick with something unknown he finds out about Riff's true feelings. Riff x Cain.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Okay so this is my second story/thing/whatever you'd like to call it. I love the reviews that were written about my previous story. And if those people who reviewed are reading right now, thank you very much. Those reviews were what caused me to write more. And so...here it is. And this time it's not just a one-shot. It will actually be a story. With those chapter things. So yes. Enjoy.  
No I don't own Godchild, nor do I own the characters. It would be nice though...

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Cooled droplets of water dripped from my fingertips into the collection of liquid below. My very own lazy movements caused ripples to disturb the calm of the water. This was the very place where I could relax and soak in once-warm bathwater until the skin on my fingers would shrivel. It was somehow calming, the way the water pools around my bare body. In here I can think clearly without the disturbances of unwanted guests. A fine example would be Oscar, who pops up without even a warning.

Seeing my own fingers begin to turn white, I stood. And trying my best not to slip as I stepped out of the tub, I grabbed the side of the porcelain tub in an attempt to steady myself. As my feet made contact with the floor, my body arched as I stretched. Chilly air poked at my exposed skin. I would have let out a sigh of irritation had I not looked around the room.

As always, that emotionless stare had infiltrated Riff's gentle eyes. He appeared to be distraught nearly every day. I can't seem to remember the last time he had ever smiled with true feeling behind it. It's a rare sight: Seeing Riff enjoying himself. When it does occur, I can't help but smile as well. Riff's joy is contagious.

"Riff…?" In an attempt to stir him out of his thoughts, I spoke, letting my wet fingers brush against his as I reached for the towel.

"Oh." Riff's face flushed as he looked over at me and immediately averted his eyes. "Forgive me, Lord Cain. I was thinking about a few things and I wasn't paying any attention."

"Riff, it's all right. No need to apologize."

"Yes, Lord Cain."

My playful mood was run off as something serious invaded my body. A sharp pain tugged at the flesh upon my back. I fell to the floor, gasping for breath as my lungs seemed to tighten and cease to allow the passage of air. My finger's tightened around Riff's arms the moment he knelt beside me. When my lips had parted a choked sob emerged instead of the plea for help I wanted to let out. I was growing warmer with each passing moment and the reason for this remained unknown. My eyes widened as I struggled to speak. Tears leaked out; the pain had increased. The rapid beating of my heart made me feel as if my body would pull itself apart.

All the while Riff was attempting to find the source of my suffering. I squeezed his arms tighter when I could not answer him. When he rose to go get help I grabbed at his leg and shook my head. I wanted him here, to comfort me, and to try to scare off this pain. With the shake of my head, the room began to spin uncontrollably. Riff's form blurred and then…

Darkness.

---x---

I don't remember much of anything right now.

My movements are limited to tapping my fingers against the soft fabric beneath me and peeking through barely open eyelids. Whatever happened was enough to leave me in this near-lifeless state. If I knew what happened I might be more relieved with finding out that I was still alive. Lying here, motionless, is growing less and less enjoyable by the minute.

Around me, childish whimpers and the shuffle of feet can be heard. All at once the sounds are attacking my ears. My head ached as the sounds continued on. I was unable to tell where and from whom the sounds were coming from.

"Mary Weather, perhaps you should go get yourself something to eat."

"O-okay Riff. Make sure brother is okay!"

"I will, I promise."

Of course Riff would be the one to look after me. Why shouldn't he take on such a task? After all, he's the closest to me in this entire household. Mary Weather was my _father's_ second illegitimate child. She's only ten years of age, how could I leave her out on the street knowing that we're partially related? She is the daughter of the man I despise. However, I am as well.

In an attempt to open my eyes once more my eyelids fluttered up, allowing me a brief look at the room in which I occupied. Unsurprisingly it was my own room.

Riff knows me so very well.

"Lord Cain?" He was close to me. I felt the warmth of his body so close to mine. "Oh…"

I could hear disappointment mixed with worry wearing down his mellow voice. Perhaps it was the pathetic attempt to catch a glimpse of him that brought up his hopes and then dashed them away as I didn't open my eyes again. He noticed such a subtle movement and realized that I was still among the living. He must be very worried.

"Lord Cain." Riff started slowly but went on, his voice taking on an affectionate tone. "Lord Cain I admire your strength to continue on. Please don't fall victim to this, whatever it is, so easily. I can't figure out what happened and it pains me to see you as you are now and not be able to help you. Please forgive me for being useless."

Fingers trailed across my face, lingering on my lips and then drifting to my cheeks. Hair was brushed away from my face with his delicate touch.

If only I could move…

His breath tickled my neck. As his fingers interlaced with mine his lips landed down on my own lips. No sooner has they made their mark did they trail to my ear.

"I love you, Lord Cain. I only wish you felt the same way."

---x---

I still recall what Riff said to me.

He could only confess to me when he believed me to be unconscious. It could be that I intimidate him. Although it's more likely to be a fear of rejection that makes him hesitate. That must be the reason why he was usually off in his owns thoughts.

He appears to be more at ease lately. Perhaps bearing such an emotion would have caused stress. Longing to tell me his hidden feelings could make for something complicated.

_I love you._

It's simply astonishing how innocent words can lead to better health. When I open my eyes I can't think straight unless the thought of him enters my mind. I must speak to him because he wouldn't dare overstep the boundaries he placed. And I would have to cross the line for him because the awkward silences and bumping into each other has gotten rather irritating.

"Yes, Lord Cain?" Riff stepped out into the sunlight, his features becoming clearer in their illumination.

"Please join me for a drink." I motioned to a seat beside me and eyed the garden surrounding us.

"Yes, of course, my Lord."

He sat stiff in the plush chair, causing me to smirk at how hard he was trying to erase the sudden coloring of his cheeks. I sipped at the lightly colored liquid in my cup, savoring its sweet flavor. Riff cautiously held the cup in his slender hands, not wanting to spill its contents.

"I wanted to talk to you." I placed the cup on the small table between us and folded my hands in my lap.

"Oh. About what?" Riff placed down his cup as well. He was so serious, his posture was perfect, and his emotionless face was very focused on mine.

"Well, it's important."

"Did I do something wrong?"

"Oh no, of course not, Riff. Don't worry about such things."

"All right."

"Let's go for a walk. We'll discuss things then."

I rose from my seat and watched as Riff nodded. Soon the two of us were walking farther away from the sweetly-scented garden. As long as we were hidden out of view from too-curious workers then we were fine.

Trees stood tall, towering over the two of us. When he was looking around with mild interest I slipped over to him and with one hand I laced our fingers together. He willingly accepted this and glanced down to conceal the furious blush that claimed his cheeks. With my other hand I placed his hand on my hip, where I guided it under the flimsy fabric of my shirt.

"Riff." I started off in a low whisper, pressing myself against him. Now our hearts beat as one. They thumped out a rhythmic tune that made me lean farther into his warm, welcoming body. "You're the only one…who can touch my scars."

"Lord…Lord Cain!" He took this as the hint it was meant to be and moved up the hand beneath my shirt, his fingertips dancing along the sensitive skin on my back.

"You were never useless to me."

Riff's hand was firmly pressed against my skin, its heat sinking into me. In a single motion he leaned forward and our lips connected. His lips were so soft, and he was being so teasingly gentle wit the way he was kissing me. I was enjoying this and he obviously was too. When he pulled back I noticed the tears building up and how he was forcing them back.

"I love you." Riff's voice caressed my ears.

"I-" My voice was silenced as two approaching pairs of footsteps signaled the arrival of people. As I glanced over at where the sound was coming from my heart quickened and I buried my head in Riff's chest to stifle the gasp I let loose. Now I could feel two sets of shocked eyes burning into us. A male's voice sounded off, causing Riff to wince at the suddenness of it.

_"Cain?!"_


	2. Love in cold blood

"Dear brother, you truly do disgust me." Sickly sweet, Jizabel's faux affection soured the pure air sifting through shadowed trees. Light - filtered through fierce jade leaves – reflected off the circular lenses of his glasses and concealed vehement eyes lying behind them. His body relied on the strength of the tree trunk to hold his body while he stared half-heartedly at the distraught Cain and his forbidden lover. The man he set out to destroy was finally his. He truly was a terrible creature.

Cassian stepped into view with a limp Mary Weather in his arms. Despite Cain's shouts of protest, he refused to leave the delicate girl alone. A bittersweet smirk readjusted his lips. The child he held was placed in a sitting position with the very tree Jizabel was using to support himself against her tiny back. He glanced at the doctor expectantly, desiring praise, though the man denied him even a simple noise or look.

"Oh, I knew I forgot to mention a small thing to you…" Jizabel remained in place as he watched Cain fall, wrinkling the fabric of his shirt in his hands. "…although, it is rather important factor relating to your current distress."

Always a faithful manservant, Riff knelt beside his fallen master with worry choking his gentle eyes. All he could do was sit, captured in the arms of a vicious silence. Cain grasped the sides of his head with pain twisting down his lips. In a violent turn of events, he had become a victim of suffering reminiscent to what he felt not all that long ago. He had much to defend, yet in this state he was vulnerable. And in the sight of his rival as well!

The faces of Riff and Jizabel had begun to dim and contort themselves into odd shapes. He couldn't lose this battle; all he needed to do was hold on a little longer. This was impossible, though. A gasp forced open his mouth. He felt as if there was a dagger being driven into his skull, deeper and deeper with each wave of hurt. Without any warning he could no longer feel. Deep, dark and hollow, darkness engulfed him and everything seemed to halt.

"My, my, my. Really, you two are all the more pathetic than I assumed." A smirk relaxed Jizabel's features. Grim delight tickled him as he watched when Cassian crept behind Riff and smashed his foot into the back of the poor man's head. His merciless companion merely shrugged as they made eye contact for the first time in weeks. "Cassian…I would like for you two patch up our Riffael. Be sure not to damage him any more than you already have. After all, Cain would not enjoy it if he woke to a dead servant and could not order anyone else to tie his shoes…He would have never expected someone so close to him to…poison his tea."

* * *

Groans penetrated the thick silence. Cain exhaled heavily, forcing himself to sit upright. Still groggy from the fall, it took him moments to realize the place in which he had awoken. Cool metal caused a tingle to erupt on the skin of his palms, much unlike the smooth of his sheets. His eyes trailed over the thick bars and up to the sheet of metal plastered upon the bars. It finally began to sink into his mind that he had been forced into a cage.

But when…?

"C-Cain!" Mary Weather's shriek quivered throughout the entire room. From across a small patch of a stone walkway, her frail figure could be seen trembling in another cage. As frightened as she was, she felt she needed to keep composure, even though her brother knew how terrified she was. "How are we going to get out of here?"

"You aren't." Smug and victorious, Jizabel had walked into the room completely unnoticed. His intimidating presence and knowing smirk caused Mary Weather to slink back as far as she could, her whimpers increasing in force.

"I don't really understand what form of pleasure you attain from the suffering of others, but leave Mary Weather out of your plans." Cain was clearly allowing his anger to take a dominant position in his actions. He could see Cassian's silhouette as he dragged a frantic Mary Weather from her cage. As much as she screamed and wriggled, she was never let go.

The quiet gleam of metal caught the attention of golden eyes that momentarily averted their focus from Cassian to the scalpel Jizabel held calmly between two elegant fingers. Fear widened Cain's usually calm eyes. Though, it was fear more for his sister than for himself. The thought of the horrid things that could happen with the small object worried him the most.

"N…No! L-leave me alone!" Mary Weather squirmed, desperation for life blossoming in her stomach. She felt the rapid thumping of her heart rattling the cage of flesh and bone. Little tremors shook her body when Jizabel loomed over the table on which she was strapped to.

"You may not enjoy this, dearest Cain." The scalpel within Jizabel's hands pressed against the child's pale flesh. Lush and crimson, blood swelled up from the opened skin. Screams – from both the girl and her brother – caressed the doctor's ears. He proceeded in the removal of the child's eyes, enraptured by the sounds oozing from her pained body when his fingers slipped in and ripped out her eyes.

"…Why…?" Defeated and hateful, Cain's wide eyes attempted to penetrate the force fields of his enemy's eyes. However, he received no answer but a shy shrug of curved shoulders. Fragments of words lingered on his tongue. This man was a cruel person, taking the lives of an innocent child only to inflict pain on someone he so desperately desired to hate. It was amazing how he could continue to live on in such a morbid life filled with brutality.

"I have complete control over you." A violet colored glass was waved in front of the young earl's face. "This is the antidote to the beautiful poison infecting your body. Seeing as how you lost something terribly important to you, I am right in assuming that you will do whatever it is that I ask? If that is not the case then…Let us stray from that thought for a moment. You need Riff to survive. Now what would become of you if I were to snip the strings that bind you together? I wonder…Your suffering brings me great joy. You see, my glorious Cain, my tainted and confused Cain, I care too much for you to allow you the pleasure of a perfect life. I truly love you when you cry those heart-crushing, childish, tainted tears."

Cain was unaware of Cassian standing behind him, easing a needle into his arm. Dazed, he felt heavy lids shut out the world while pain ravaged him. He lost. And therefore he was nothing more than a failure. Soon intoxicated by the drug now writhing in his bloodstream, he smiled up at Jizabel. His arm slipped between bars and aimed for the doctor. Jizabel's blood-soaked fingers intertwined with Cain's in an affectionate manner, a genuine smile destroying the barrier he had held up for so long.

"I don't…" Cain felt a familiar taste of salt staining his tongue that came from the tears unwillingly forming in his eyes. He felt somehow apathetic, with only a newly developed desire for Jizabel to keep him grinning. His head cocked to the side when the doctor knelt down and their other hands connected. "I don't understand…but for you I will try."

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Notes!: And because I fail this took forever. :3 Sorry sorry. I'm not done though. I already have the third part done...So I'll just upload and type that up in a bit. You can eat me if you want. T.T I FAIL! I am a failure. Lately my stories have become more gruesome...and I'm all "WOAH...wait what?" So yes...and I'm not talking about the things I post up here. There is so much more I write when I'm not on this site...But I can't put them up because they're about not...mangas and television shows and such. My originial works, we'll call them.

Um...well really that's all for now. HATEMAIL?!


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